Beginnings

On today's episode I talk to musician Cory Hanson. Originally from Los Angeles, Cory began playing music professionally with Mikal Cronin and the bands, together PANGEA and Meatbodies. In 2014 he formed Wand with his former art school classmates Lee Landey and Evan Burrows, and they've gone on to record four albums: Ganglion Reef, Golem, 1000 Days, and their latest Plum (the last two were released on the wonderful label Drag City!). Last year, Drag City also released Cory's solo album The Unborn Capitalist from Limbo. All of these terrific! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and podcaster Andrew Ti. Originally from Michigan, Andrew is the creator and host of the Yo, Is This Racist blog and podcast, which has been part of Earwolf for many years. In both forms, Andrew takes fan-submitted questions about whether certain cultural phenomena are racist or not. Besides Yo, Is This Racist, Andrew's also a writer, and has worked on a number of projects including Problematic with Moshe Kasher. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to cartoonist Eli Valley. Eli's work has been featured in The Nation, The New Republic, The Village Voice, The Nib, The Guardian, The Daily Beast, Gawker among other places, and from 2011 to 2013, he was the Artist in Residence at The Forward, a progressive Jewish newspaper based in New York. His critically-acclaimed anthology Diaspora Boy: Comics on Crisis in America and Israel is available now from OR Books. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to rapper Latasha Alcindor AKA LA. Originally from Flatbush, Brooklyn, Latasha made her way into hip hop in a unique way: through performance art. In only six short years, she's put out a number of great albums including The Presentation and The LA Riots in 2011, Spark in 2014, Loosies and Blunts a year later, and two this year B(LA)K and Teen Nite at Empire. All are worth your time! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer Jill Eisenstadt. Jill is the author of the novels From Rockaway, Kiss Out and Swell and with her sister, director Debra Eisenstadt, the co- writer and co-producer of the feature film, The Limbo Room. In the 1980s, she was part of the 'Literary Brat Pack' whose members included Bret Easton Ellis, Jay McInerney, and Tama Janowitz. Other work of Jill's has appeared in such publications as The New York Times, New York Magazine, Vogue, Elle, The Boston Review, as well as many others. Jill is also the recipient of a Columbia University Writing Fellowship, a National Foundation for Advancement in the Arts Teacher Award and a National Endowment for the Arts Fiction Grant. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Emmy-award winning writer and performer Zhubin Parang. Before coming to comedy, Zhubin graduated from Georgetown University Law Center and was a practicing lawyer in New York City. During this time, he studied at and eventually became a performer at UCB. In 2011, he joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart as a writer, and eventually Zhubin became the head writer when the show transitioned to Trevor Noah. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Peabody Award–winning writer-director-producer Miles Kahn. Miles got his start in entertainment as a writer and director, and in 2008 joined The Daily Show with Jon Stewart. He worked his way up to Senior Producer, and during his time there, also produced a number of specials for stand-ups like Wyatt Cenac and D.L. Hughley.  In 2015, Miles left the Daily Show to serve as executive producer for Full Frontal With Samantha Bee, where he's been since. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Queens-based cartoonist and illustrator Mattie Lubchansky. Mattie is the Associate Editor of the Nib, a daily political comics site under the First Look Media umbrella, which also houses the brilliant left-wing news site The Intercept. Mattie's work has appeared in VICE, Eater, Mad Magazine, Gothamist, The Toast, The Hairpin, Brooklyn Magazine, as well as their long-running webcomic Please Listen to Me. Additionally, they are the co-author with their wife of the book Dad Magazine, which was published by Quirk last year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to screenwriter and activist Jeremy Pikser. Originally on his way to be a teacher, Jeremy instead became a screenwriter after a series of events led him to be a "special consultant" and uncredited writer on the film Reds, which was nominated for an Academy Award for screenplay. He's written a number of other films as well, including The Lemon Sisters with Diane Keaton and Elliott Gould, War, Inc. with John Cusack and Bulworth with Warren Beatty. The screenplay for Bulworth was nominated for many awards including the Academy, Golden Globe, and WGA awards and was the winner of the LA Film Critics Best Screenplay award. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to policy analyst and data scientist Sam Sinyangwe. Sam grew up in Orlando, FL, and has been involved in organizing and advocacy since he was in high school. He's worked at PolicyLink helping to support a national network of 61 "Promise Neighborhoods" with the goal of building cradle-to-career systems of support for low-income families. He created the "Mapping Police Violence" project, which collects and uses data as a tool for fighting police violence. And most recently, he founded Campaign Zero with DeRay Mckesson and Brittany Packnett. Campaign Zero is a comprehensive organization dedicated to ending police violence by limiting police interventions, improving community interactions, and ensuring accountability. He's also the co-founder of two other activist organizations StayWoke and OurStates, the latter which is dedicated to connecting communities in order to combat the Trump/GOP agenda.  This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to award-winning playwright, author, and performer Isaac Oliver. His debut collection of essays, Intimacy Idiot, was named one of NPR's Best Books of 2015. His plays include Electra in a One-Piece, and the ten-minute plays “3, 2, 1,” “Film Forum,” and “Come Here”, which won the New York Innovative Theatre Award for Outstanding Original Short Script. Additionally, he's written for The New York Times, W Magazine, Time Out New York, Out, and HBO's High Maintenance. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to Jade Payne and Mars Ganito of the indie rock band Aye Nako. Formed in 2010, Aye Nako is a New York-based queer punk band who make dissonant and melodic punk music. In 2013, they self-released their first album Unleash Yourself, and in 2015, Don Giovanni Records released their EP THe Blackest Eye. The album saw the band explore personal themes such as abuse and racism, and it garnered a great deal of critical acclaim, ending up on several "best of" lists including both the New York Times and NPR. They were even voted "Best Garage Band in New York" in the Village Voice that year. Their latest album Silver Haze was also released on Don Giovanni earlier this year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

I'm moving to LA this week, so I wanted to take a break from producing an episode to settle into the new digs and recover from having to take two cats on a cross-country flight. And while I was getting ready for the move, I was cleaning up my hard drive and found some of the music from when Beginnings was a monthly live show at UCB East (every month we'd have a musical guest perform and then be interviewed). These performances are really fantastic, and I don't know how many people have heard them, so this week, I thought I'd put out a mixtape of Beginnings live show performances (and a couple of in-studio ones too). Enjoy! Hayden - Rainy Saturday A.C. Newman - I'm Not Talking Xenia Rubinos Swearin' - What a Dump ARMS - Comfort Dan Friel - Ulysses Savoir Adore - Loveliest Creature Islands - Christmas Tree Dump - New York City Tonight Brother JT - Warm's the New Cool Mike Pace and the Child Actors - McKinley Xenia Rubinos A.C. Newman - Drink to Me Babe Then Swearin' - Crashing Dan Friel - Thumper Brother JT - G

On today's episode I talk to musician Jen Goma. Based in New York City, Jen writes and produces music, comedy and videos. She is a member of the bands A Sunny Day in Glasgow and Roman à Clef and has collaborated with The Pains of Being Pure at Heart and Jherek Bischoff. Her first solo album Smiley Face, recorded under the name Showtime Goma was just released, and it's great! This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer Joseph Kertes. Joe was born in Hungary but escaped with his family to Canada after the revolution of 1956. He studied English at York University and the University of Toronto and founded Humber College's distinguished creative writing and comedy programs. As an author, he's written a number of books including Winter Tulips and Boardwalk. His third book Gratitude won the Canadian National Jewish Book Award and the U.S. National Jewish Book Award for Fiction, and his latest book The Afterlife of Stars, based on his childhood in Hungary, is a New York Times Editor's Choice. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to novelist, columnist, and Emmy-nominated television writer Bill Scheft. Bill started his career as a sportswriter and as a stand-up. After twelve years touring, he was hired as a monologue writer for Late Night with David Letterman where he remained for 24 years until the show's conclusion in 2015. In addition to writing for Letterman, Bill also wrote for the Oscars, ESPYs and almost every other major awards show, and he also contributed a popular weekly humor column to Sports Illustrated for a number of years. Bill is also an author, having penned four books: The Ringer, the Thurber Prize for American Humor finalist Time Won't Let Me, Everything Hurts, and his most recent Shrink Thyself, which was published by Rare Bird Books a few years ago. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Stephen Falk. Born in Berkeley, CA, Stephen has been working in television for a number of years, starting off on the Showtime series Weeds. He then created the NBC show Next Caller, and went on to write for Orange is the New Black. In 2014, he created the wonderful FX series You're the Worst, whose 4th season will air sometime later this year. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Joel Church-Cooper. Born in Sacramento, Joel grew up in Santa Cruz, and eventually made his way down to LA where he started taking classes and performing at UCB and IO West. As a TV writer, he started on shows like The Onion SportsDome, as well as Up All Night, Ground Floor and Undateable, among many others. Most recently, he created and showruns Brockmire on IFC, which is based on a Funny or Die webseries he made. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to writer and showrunner Damon Lindelof. Originally from Teaneck, NJ, Damon has been a successful television and screenwriter for almost two decades. He started on shows like MTV's Undressed and Nash Bridges, and in 2004 co-created Lost, the show that revitalized the possibility that network TV could be weird and labyrinthine. He's written many of the best studio sci-fi films of the last decade including World War Z, Prometheus and Star Trek Into Darkness, and most recently co-created and showruns one of the best shows on TV hands down, The Leftovers, whose final season is currently airing on HBO. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.

On today's episode I talk to songwriter, arranger and record producer Patrick Adams. Originally from Harlem, Patrick has applied his magic touch to more than four decades of music, earning thousands of credits for contributions to disco, boogie, soul and hip-hop releases both genre-defining and criminally underrated. In addition to mentoring Leroy Burgess and his seminal soul group Black Ivory, Patrick was a key contributor to innumerable disco LPs and hits like Musique’s “In The Bush,” and Inner Life’s “I’m Caught Up (In A One Night Love Affair).” Nicknamed the “Prince of Soft Soul”, Patrick has earned 32 gold and platinum records and worked with or wrote for countless R&B, disco and hip hop groups including Eric B. & Rakim, R. Kelly, Sister Sledge, Keith Sweat, Salt-N-Pepa, Teddy Riley, Herbie Mann, Gladys Knight, Rick James, and many, many more. This is the website for Beginnings, subscribe on iTunes, follow me on Twitter.